Your Attitude Makes the Difference

Success results more from certain mental traits and personality characteristics known as attitudes than from any other single factor. Attitudes are the result of choices you make – decisions to believe or not believe in particular aspects of your life.

Attitude isn’t simply a state of mind it is also a reflection of what we value. Attitude is more than just saying I can, it is believing you can. It requires believing before seeing, because seeing is based on circumstances, believing is based on faith. Attitude is so contagious especially when we allow it to turn our doubts of the past into the passions of today and set the stage for our tomorrows. We have total ownership of our attitudes.

No one else has the power to alter our attitudes without our permission. Our attitude allows us to become more empowering than money, to rise above our failures, and accept others for who they are, and what they say. It is more important than giftedness and is the forerunner of all skills needed for happiness and success. Our attitudes can be used to build us up or put us down - the choice is ours, it also gives us the wisdom to know that we can change events of the past. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you respond to it ... and it is with this state of mind that you can remain in charge of your ATTITUDE.

Thinking like a winner

In the book Think Like a Winner by Dr. Walter D. Staples, he states that in its simplest form, the key to your success lies in your particular manner of thinking. When you change how you think about yourself, your relationships, your goals and your world, your life will change. If you change the quality of your thinking, you necessarily will change the quality of your life.

There is a process whereby you can change your life. You can flush out all the old, tired, I-used-them-before thoughts and fill your mind with new, challenging, I-am-in-charge thoughts. You have what you’ve got by doing what you’ve been doing – thinking in a particular manner you have become accustomed to. It’s simple enough. If what you want in the future is different from what you’ve got in the present, you must change what you’ve been doing!

Your beliefs represent conscious decisions you have made in the past about yourself and what you expect or do not expect to accomplish. There decisions are now repeated unconsciously as you go through life. They continuously control your thinking, direct your behavior and determine your relative level of performance. How you perform in any given area of your life is only partly a function of your potential in that area. In fact, it is largely a function of your deep seated beliefs. Of all your beliefs, the most important are your core beliefs, for they are absolutely critical to your future.

You possess thousands upon thousands of beliefs about every aspect of life. You have an opinion or belief about sports, politicians, cars, music, airplanes, pollution… and on and on. But none of these particular beliefs has a major impact on your life. The same cannot be said about your core beliefs. Core beliefs are basic to your very being, and are the primary determinants concerning the direction your life takes.

Here is a list of the ten core beliefs that are unique to all peak performing men and women. Consider each one carefully, and imagine what your world would begin to look like if you held the same beliefs and made them a part of your life today.

1. Winners are not born they are made.
2. The dominant force in your existence is the thinking you engage in.
3. You are empowered to create your own reality.
4. There is some benefit to be had from every adversity.
5. Each one of your beliefs is a choice.
6. You are never defeated until you accept defeat as a reality and decide to stop trying.
7. You already possess the ability to excel in at least one key area of your life.
8. The only real limitations on what you can accomplish in your life are those you impose on yourself.
9. There can be no great success without great commitment.
10. You need the support and co-operation of other people to achieve any worthwhile goal.

The Expectation Theory

The Expectation Theory holds that your fundamental beliefs about yourself and your world are the principal determinants to your success in life. In fact, it is through your beliefs that you create the very world you live in. The practical application of the theory works in this way:

• The beliefs you hold are the direct result of all the thinking you have, or have not engaged in.

• Your beliefs, in turn create your expectations about results and future outcomes. Expectations are active forces at work in your mind.

• Your expectations, in turn determine your attitude. Your attitude once expressed, determines your behavior.

Consider the following cause and effect relationship to see how personal beliefs represent the very foundation of our life:

WHEN YOU CHANGE YOUR THINKING,

you change your beliefs;

When you change your beliefs, you change your expectations;

When you change your expectations, you change your attitude;

When you change your attitude, you change your behavior;

When you change your behavior, you change your performance;

When you change your performance,

YOU CHANGE YOUR LIFE

Note that you cannot change your life by trying to change your life; you cannot change your performance by trying to change your performance; you cannot change your behavior by trying to change your behavior; you cannot change your attitude by trying to change your attitude; you cannot change your expectations by trying to change your expectations; you cannot change your beliefs by trying to change your beliefs. But you can change the picture images or internal representations you hold in your mind that represent your ingrained thinking. This will bring about change in all the other areas of your life that are important to you.

Your mind is the dynamic force behind the marvelous success system within you. Whatever you believe, picture in your mind and think about most of the time, you eventually bring into reality.

As individuals, we are all different, yet in many ways, we are also the same. We are all made from the same mold and blessed with life and the potential for high achievement. We all have a unique mix of talents and abilities that usually go undeveloped and underutilized. We all have 24 hours each day and 7 days each week to live our lives in whatever way we choose. Life is really a series of choices. In fact, the only thing you don’t have a choice about is making choices, for to avoid them is to make them.

In the end, the rewards you receive in life do not come because of your potential. They come because of your performance. It is your performance, then, that you must focus on and ultimately improve upon. Your reality is what you make it to be and it is your perception of reality that will make all the difference in the way you think, the way you behave and the way you perform.

To your success and till the next time

Bruce

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